Two Nigerian young women take their luxury handbag designs international – Tola Adenle

Kunmi (above), and photographs of two of her beautiful creations are from forbes.com

The two young Nigerian ladies here are getting rave reviews in their quest to put Nigeria on the world of fashion map for creating luxury bags; Ms. Kunmi Otitọju, for incorporating a fabric she loves, the Yoruba aṣọ òkè into her designs, especially to line the interior of the luxury bags, and Ms. Zainab Ashadu, who has taken the age-old dyeing of leather in Northern Nigeria to new heights to create her line of luxury handbags.

Both women started in Lagos although Ms. Otitọju’s Minku – an anagram of her first name – is now based in Barcelona where she’s had the opportunity of interacting with the Spanish fashion scene; she showed at the 2014 Barcelona Fashion Week, and was also at the Lagos Fashion Week which is fast becoming a must-stop on the annual Fashion Week calendars of the world.

Otitọju has been named as one of “30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa” for 2014 by forbes.com

Ms. Ashadu decided to use the centuries-old dyeing of leather trade in Northern Nigeria, using natural plants to make her dyes, as the first step produce high-end luxury handbags. It’s been a smart move, especially for the kind of customers she had her eyes on. She’s been very successful to that end and is bound to reach very higher level in the international market scene.

Her use of only natural dyes for which she has recruited very skilled artisans from Northern Nigeria where she hails from – although she calls Lagos home – is attracting great interest beyond Nigeria where the idea of sustainability is taken very seriously. Ms. Ashadu was a finalist in “The most socially-responsible Handbag” category in the 2014 Independent Handbag Designer Awards (IHDA).

Her luxury bags, which retail in the hundreds of dollars, are being carried by stores in Lagos, Paris, Johannesburg and other places.

Zainab studied at the London Fashion College to have knowledge of her chosen profession beyond the expertise she had gained after entering the world of fashion bag design.

It is very heartening that these young ladies are ready to compete at the highest level judging from what they are turning out. We deserve to be proud of them, and when possible, we should patronize them. After all, many of us are willing and able to spend hundreds on handbags made by foreign designers. These creations look as well-made.